The LA-based Resonance Records, founded by jazz impresario and recording engineer George Klabin, is preparing the release of two albums (of previously unreleased material) in partnership with the Stan Getz estate. "Moments In Time," a deluxe packaged 1CD/2LP set recorded live during an engagement (from May 11 to 16, 1976) at the famed San Francisco venue Keystone Korner (headed by producer Todd Barkan in the 70s), captures Stan leading a quartet with pianist Joanne Brackeen, bassist Clint Houston, and drummer Billy Hart. Resonance's plans are to release this recording on the same day they will issue "Getz/Gilberto '76," also recorded at the Keystone Korner, with the same band backing Getz and Brazilian bossa nova legend Joao Gilberto.

The illustration of the cover of "Moments In Time" was created by one of the most talented and important illustrators today, Mr. Takao Fujioka. "I first met Takao while in Osaka, Japan last August and was immediately taken by his work. I commissioned him to create this cover and am really happy with the results," says Steve Getz, Stan's beloved son who once toured my native Brazil playing percussion on his father's band (actually this same band heard on the album). Takao-san is also the publisher of the Osaka based jazz magazine, 'Way Out West'. The Jazz Gallery in NYC recently did an exhibition of his work. You can also check out more at Takao's website: http://www.jazgra.com/

Next April 18, to celebrate the Record Store Day, Resonance will be releasing a special issue titled "Selections from Getz/Gilberto '76," available only as a 10-inch vinyl LP. That same day the label will issue a set by guitar wiz Wes Montgomery with pianist Eddie Higgins Trio ("One Night In Indy," cut on January 18, 1959) and another one by master organist Larry Young ("Selections From In Paris: The ORTF Recordings," recorded in 1964 and 1965. Famous for his sessions with Tony Williams and Miles Davis, the late (and much missed) Young will have his full album released probably only by the end of 2015.

The tapes of the January 18,1959 Indianapolis jazz club performance that unites Wes Montgomery & The Eddie Higgins Trio formerly belonged to the late-great Indiana photo journalist, Duncan Schiedt, who passed away in 2014. Members of the Indianapolis Jazz Club that Scheidt co-ran recorded this performance. The trio consists of Higgins on piano, an unidentified bassist (!) and Walter Perkins (who was Ahmad Jamal's trio before Vernell Fournier) on drums.

As Producer Zev Feldman notes, "In 2013, Duncan contacted me about tapes he had of Wes playing with Higgins at a jazz club society that he and a bunch of his friends ran in Indy. The senior members of the club continually passed down this found tape to younger members of the club; Duncan was the last living member, and he passed these tapes onto me. Duncan hoped that these tapes would be released one day in partnership with the family, which is exactly what we've done," with the blessing of Higgins' widow, Meredith D'Ambrosio, whom Feldman found via Sunnyside Records president, François Zalacain.

Feldman adds, "Duncan & I became friends while working on the Echoes of Indiana Avenue project. I'm grateful to Duncan for his lasting friendship and for sharing this with the world to hear. It is nothing short of amazing that after decades of no new Montgomery music, Resonance has brought to light new documents that will help Wes's legacy live on: the upcoming May 2015 release of "In the Beginning" and, thanks to Duncan, One Night In Indy."

This Limited Edition 12" LP (pressing of 2500) will be presented on 180 gram vinyl at 33 1/3 rpm by Erika Records and includes over 40 minutes of music. The six tracks: "Give Me the Simple Life," "Prelude to A Kiss," "Stompin' at the Savoy," "Ruby My Dear," "Li'l Darlin'" and "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To." With a cityscape view of Indianapolis suggesting a night to be remembered, Burton Yount artistically designed the cover, based on a pic (from the mid 50s) of the Indiana Historical Society.

Another important discovery -- from the National Audiovisual Institute (INA) in France which includes the Office of Radio and Television (ORTF) archives -- "Selections from Larry Young In Paris - The ORTF Recordings," features never-before-released 1964-1965 live & studio recordings from American jazz organist & pianist Larry Young.

This project came about in 2012 when Resonance began to inquire what was in the ORTF archives (now a part of INA, the National Audiovisual Institute). Feldman discovered that these Larry Young recordings had been sitting in their vault for nearly 50 years since the mid '60's. This project tells the story of Larry Young as an American jazz artist living in Paris. Featured artists include Woody Shaw on trumpet, Nathan Davis on saxophones and Billy Brooks on drums plus numerous French artists (Nathan Davis Quartet recordings are included in this release).

This Limited Edition 10" record is pressed on 140 gram vinyl at 33 1/3 RPM by Erika Records (pressing of 1,500). The tracks are "Beyond All Limits," "Luny Tune," "Frame of Thought" and "Larry's Blues." The cover is artistically designed by Burton Yount using a previously unpublished photograph by Francis Wolff/Mosaic Images. In 2015/2016, listeners can look forward to a 2-CD and 3-LP full length edition.

Resonance is also announcing the forthcoming release, next May 12, of Wes' "In The Beginning," a 26-track collection available as both 2-CD & 3-LP sets, as well as digitally. "In the Beginning" is only the third new release of predominantly unheard material from guitar legend Wes Montgomery since his passing in 1968. Recordings include a complete never-before-released 1955 Epic Records session produced by Quincy Jones, licensed from Sony Music Entertainment; newly discovered 78 RPM sides with Wes as a sideman, recorded for Spire Records (1949); a live recording from the home of sister Ervena Montgomery, Indianapolis (1956); live recordings from the Turf Club (1956), the Missile Lounge (1958) in Indianapolis and the C&C Music Lounge in Chicago (1957).

The CD version includes a 55-page booklet of liner notes by 2015 GRAMMY award-winning journalist and noted jazz historian and biographer Ashley Kahn, legendary producer Quincy Jones, guitarist Pete Townshend of The Who and others, alongside rare never-before-published photos from the Montgomery Estate and friends in Montgomery's native Indianapolis.

The 3-LP version is presented on 180-gram vinyl mastered by engineering legend Bernie Grundman, and pressed on 12" LPs at 33 1/3 RPM (by R.T.I.) in a hand-numbered slipcase with an 8-panel booklet. Limited-edition pressing of 1,500. The LP set includes extensive liner notes, as noted above, a digital download card and collector postcards of unpublished photos.

Some past Resonance titles include the critically acclaimed "John Coltrane Offering: Live at Temple University," Charles Lloyd's "Manhattan Stories," Wes Montgomery's "Echoes of Indiana Avenue" and Bill Evans' "Live at Art D'Lugoff's Top of the Gate." Located in Beverly Hills, CA, Resonance Records is a division of the Rising Jazz Stars Foundation, a California 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation created to "discover the next jazz stars." Resonance artists include Richard Galliano, Polly Gibbons, Tamir Hendelman, Christian Howes, Claudio Roditi and Donald Vega, among others.

Friday, January 30, 2015

Markus Wölfelschneider talks to the members of the Contrast Trio, a young band based in Frankfurt, Germany ( Die Welt). They complain about the missing support for jazz in Germany's former "jazz capital" and explain, "Whoever seriously wants to play jazz in Frankfurt, needs to leave town at one point." The young musicians talk about their new CD, about changes in their musical concept over the last years, about playing without written music in front of them, and about a side gig as theater musicians in "Peter Pan", playing pirates sent over board towards the end of the play. --- Phil Gallo talks to the pianist Vijay Iyer about working with the ECM label, about the development of his trio, about communicating with his audience, about using hip-hop elements, about working with an orchestra, and about his teaching concept at Harvard University which tries to link the music with the social realities in the country ( Billboard).

23 January 2015Ted Efantis / Tulsa, Oklahoma

Lavanya Ramanathan talks to the saxophonist Ted Efantis who is part of the Washington, D.C., jazz scene since the 1950s and recalls the changes in the jazz world over the years ( Washington Post). --- Kevin Canfield reports about the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame in Tulsa which is in financial trouble and has not paid its property insurance which would give the insurance company the legal right to seize the assets ( Tulsa World). At the last moment the Jazz Hall seems to have paid their bills ( Tulsa World).

24 January 2015Keith Jarrett / Boston, Massachusetts

Sabine Krüger talks to Vera Brandes who was only 18 when she organized a solo concert by pianist Keith Jarrett at the Cologne Opera House in January 1975, the recording of which became a hit for the label ECM ( WDR). The website also contains memories by Vince Mendoza, Ian Carr and Peter Erskine about Jarrett and "The Köln Concert". Max Florian Kühlen talks to Vera Brandes as well ( Rolling Stone). More reports by Jürgen Hein ( Hamburger Abendblatt), H. Piegeler and J. Preuten ( Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger). --- Jed Gottlieb reports about jazz life in Boston, Massachusetts, which allows students and graduates of Berklee College to perform and which has improved considerably, making the city's scene "better than it was a few years ago" ( Boston Herald).

25 January 2015Eberhard Weber / Pop

Mirko Weber talks to the German bassist Eberhard Weber who turned 75 last week and was celebrated with a star-filled concert at Stuttgart's Liederhalle ( Stuttgarter Zeitung). Weber talks about the joys of performing on stage, about the specific sound he was able to create on his instrument, about his time with Jan Garbarek and one of his greatest fans, the singer Kate Bush, and about life with and without music. Sebastian Scotney ( The Telegraph) and Udo Eberl ( Südwest Presse) attended the concert. --- Robert Siegel talks to Ben Yagoda, the author of a recent book about the time "when pop broke up with jazz" ( NPR). Yagoda explains some of the changes in popular taste in the early 1950s, and then focuses on the success of Mitch Miller's "Sing Along" show and the rebirth of the Great American Song in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

26 January 2015Branford Marsalis / Diana Krall

Jeremy D. Goodwin talks to the saxophonist Branford Marsalis about his growing classical repertoire, about it taking more discipline to play simple, about Dizzy Gillespie having told him that he felt no blues in his playing, about the need for an awareness of the roots of music, and about the connection between the different styles he worked in ( Boston Globe). --- Adam Jacques talks to the Canadian pianist and singer Diana Krall about a long career necessary to be where she's at now, about working with Paul McCartney and since long having been a fan of Elton John, about having been mentored by jazz musicians and having dreamt as a kid of becoming an astronaut ( The Independent).

27 January 2015Till Brönner / Herbie Hancock

Christian Kellersmann writes about the German trumpeter Till Brönner's career and his own involvement in it as former Universal general manager, about the success of Brönner's different recordings and his own assessment of it, about getting Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts to endorse Brönner and about not being successful in convincing singer Caterina Valente to record a new album with the trumpeter, about changes in Brönner's recent career and his own expectations from the new Till Brönner Orchestra ( Kelly's Diary). Janina Bembenek ( BZ Berlin) and Peter E. Müller ( Berliner Morgenpost) attend the concert with the 20-piece big band at the Tempodrom Berlin. --- The pianist Matthew Shipp reads his colleague Herbie Hancock's new autobiography as a possible explanation of why jazz, as he puts it, "is so fucked up nowadays" ( The Talk House).

21 January 2015... what else ...

David La Rosa reports about New York's highest court denying Duke Ellington's heirs the right to retry a lawsuit about international royalties against EMI Music Publishing ( The Jazz Line). --- Richard Williams has mixed feelings about the film "Whiplash" ( The Blue Moment). Nick Clark reports about other critical voices about the film from the jazz community ( The Independent), while Nicolas Pillai thinks jazz critics should stop worrying about the movie as it's not about jazz as much as it simply is a horror movie ( The Conversation). --- We used to have a column called "Oh, that's jazz, too". A new thinner aircraft seat named "Jazz" would fit in it perfectly ( AeroTelegraph). --- Peter Hum talks to the Canadian drummer Ken Harper ( Ottawa Citizen). --- Nate Chinen hears the pianist Marc Cary at Ginny's Supper Club in New York ( New York Times).

Obituaries
We read another obituary about the jazz researcher Lawrence Gushee who had died in early January at the age of 83 ( Champaign News-Gazette). --- We learned of the passing of the singer and arranger Ward Swingle at the age of 87 ( Telegraph, Washington Post, New York Times), the Mardi Gras Indians' Big Chief Bo Dollis at the age of 71 ( Jazz Times), the singer Cynthia Layne at the age of 51 ( Indianapolis Recorder), the trumpeter and recording engineer Paul Serrano at the age of 83 ( Chicago Tribune), the British educator Dave Hatfield at the age of 66 ( Yorkshire Evening Post), the rock guitarist Edgar Froese at the age of 70 ( New York Times, Die Welt), and the German jazz researcher Horst P. Bergmeier at the age of 78.

Last Week at the Jazzinstitut

Last Wednesday somewhere between 250 and 300 people attended the hommage to Charlie Parker at Frankfurter Hof in Mainz, performed by the saxophonist Heinz-Dieter Sauerborn and students from the Mainz Music University. Klaus Mümpfer reports for the local newspaper ( Allgemeine Zeitung)

On Sunday we heard a first serenade to the Jazzinstitut's 25th anniversary during the New Year's reception by the city of sciences Darmstadt. We will officially celebrate in September, however, the bassist Jürgen Wuchner, the trumpeter Valentin Garvie and the banjoist Roman Klöcker played music between Monk and space mission (Darmstadt is home to the ESA European Space Operations Center). Our local newspaper reports ( Darmstädter Echo).

Our preparations for the 14th Darmstadt Jazzforum continue. We are collecting suggestions for this international conference which will focus on "Gender and Identity in Jazz", at which we will not just talk about women in jazz, though, but also about the image jazz has developed over the years, both within the jazz world and to outsiders, how they were shaped and how they change.

Monday, January 26, 2015

"People are going to talk about you, especially when they envy you and the life you live. Let them. You affected their lives, they didn't affect yours... you will eventually lose someone you love & love someone you never thought you'd find..."

Arnaldo DeSouteiro - Short Bio

Music Producer (with over 380 albums to his credit according to the All Music Guide), Voting Member of NARAS-GRAMMY and Jazz Journalists Association (NY), Member of LAJS (Los Angeles Jazz Society), Musical Philosopher, Journalist, Jazz & Brazilian Music Historian, Publicist, Public Relations, Composer (having written successful jazz & pop songs, some dance hits like "O Passarinho" for the Italian TV reality show "La Pupa e Il Secchione", and "Samba da Copa" for the "2006 World Cup" in Germany, plus many other soundtracks for movies, soap operas & TV series in the USA -- PBS, BET, Universal Cable etc --, Europe and Asia), Lyricist (he wrote lyrics to Dave Brubeck's "Broadway Bossa Nova" at the invitation of Brubeck himself, among other songs), Arranger, Percussionist, Keyboardist, Programmer, Educator (conducting clinics and panel sessions worldwide as the first Brazilian member of IAJE-International Association of Jazz Educators during its existence). He has also acted as consultant for several companies and jazz festivals all over the world.

Founder and CEO of JSR (Jazz Station Records), a Division of Jazz Station Marketing & Consulting - LA, Calif. Most recently, founded LaCalifUSA Pictures and JSR Casting in 2007 for movie & TV productions featuring music & fashion.

Produced special compilations for Quincy Jones ("Summer in the City - The Soul Jazz Grooves of Quincy Jones"), Chick Corea ("Electric Chick") and Deodato ("Do It Again - The Fantastic Jazz-Funk of Eumir Deodato"), all released by Verve/Universal. His latest CD for Verve is "Bossa Nova USA," released last May, featuring Dave Brubeck's title track performed by Quincy Jones.

Mr. DeSouteiro has also worked in his native Brazil for TUPI-FM radio station (as musical programmer-DJ as well as hosting his own show, "Jazz Espetacular"), Manchete TV network (anchoring & supervising the "Terça Especial" series for which he interviewed such jazz giants as Dizzy Gillespie, Tony Bennett, Chuck Mangione, Airto Moreira, Flora Purim etc), Globo TV network (screenplay, coordination and mix for the TV special "João Gilberto & Antonio Carlos Jobim - O Grande Encontro" in 1992, the last time these 2 geniuses performed together, plus the texts and screenplay for the "Minuto da Bossa" series), and as the jazz columnist for the "Tribuna da Imprensa" (Press Tribune) daily newspaper during 29 years (from 1979 to 2008). Before moving to the USA, he also worked as Brazilian correspondent of "Keyboard" magazine (from 1985 to 1994), as a free-lancer to Billboard, Cuadernos de Jazz, Swing Journal and International Music Magazine, and as entertainment-in-flight programmer for several airline companies like Varig Brazilian Airlines (from 1983 to 1998).

Mr. DeSouteiro also had the honor to be associated with some of the world's greatest photographers like Pete Turner (who did the cover photo for Jorge Pescara's CD "Grooves in the Temple," released on his own JSR label and featured on Turner's new book "The Color of Jazz"), Victor Skrebneski (the CD reissue of "Upchurch/Tennyson"), Bruce Weber (Esther Phillips' "For All We Know"), Robert Mappelthorpe ("Brazilian Horizons"), Alen MacWeeney, William Cadge, and Duane Michals (many of the CTI CDs) and so on. He has appeared in several movies and TV series such as the Award Winning documentary movie "Beyond Ipanema," for which he was interviewed alongside Creed Taylor, Lalo Schifrin, Wayne Shorter, Gene Lees and Norman Gimbel.

(PLEASE, DO NOT SEND UNSOLICITED MATERIAL; any unsolicited CD or promo packets will be returned. If you wish to submit material, please contact us through comments on this post or through Facebook. Thx!)https://www.facebook.com/arnie.gilberto

People are going to talk about you, especially when they envy you and the life you live. Let them. You affected their lives, they didn't affect yours... you will eventually lose someone you love & love someone you never thought you'd find...

"No One Home" -- the follow-up to "Gypsies" -- was Lalo Schifrin's second and last album for the Tabu label. Released in 1979, it was a disco-oriented project spiced with funk grooves, jazzy harmonies and some beautiful pop melodies like Minnie Riperton's "Oh Darlin'...Life Goes On" (great synth and vocal riffs) and specially Lalo's own ballad "Memory of Love," graced with a short but very elegant acoustic piano solo.

But the album centerpiece is really the title track, on which guitarist Wah Wah Watson steals the show using the 'voice bag' over a funky Rhodes groovitation. This expanded Japanese CD reissue includes four bonus tracks: single and instrumental versions of "No One Home" plus two tunes -- "Moonlight Gypsies" and the mellow "Prophecy of Love" -- from the "Gypsies" album recorded in 1978 and already issued on CD some months ago in Europe.

The brainchild of seven-time Grammy winner Herb Albert, Vibrato Grill & Jazz blends the rich elements of world-renowned jazz, art and gourmet cuisine for an evening to remember. The restaurant is owned by Pasadena’s Smith Brothers Restaurant group (Parkway Grill, Arroyo Chop House and Smitty’s Grill) and serves an exquisite menu of American contemporary dishes. Must tries include the dessert menu’s warm bittersweet chocolate truffle cake, chocolate glazed butterscotch pudding, caramel apple pie and Meyer lemon tart. Located at the top of Mulholland Drive and Beverly Glen Circle, Vibrato’s sophisticated jazz sounds and the deliciously fragrant food will lure you in from all over the city.

"Sunday night, Santa Monica. Last Sunday night I was having a really good time, sitting in the Baked Potato, halfway between Hollywood and the Valley, and listening to jazz singer Anna Mjoll perform with her really good band. I wish I could be doing the same thing tonight, but it’s a much longer drive to her gig. She’s playing in Reykjavik. Yeah, Iceland. She’s closer to the ocean there... than she was in the Valley. But she’s a lot closer to the Arctic Circle too.Why in the world would a jazz singer book herself into a small club in an island nation with one fifth the population of the San Fernando Valley?Because she’s home for the holidays.Anna Mjoll is not much of what you usually picture as a jazz singer. Few of her performance photos show her in a dress. More likely you’ll get what I saw at the Potato: strategically very torn jeans, punkish spiked bracelets, stylish “armlet” tattoo, leather half-vest and a thin leather headband holding in place her long golden (really, really golden) locks, white-toed black tennies (but no candy cane-striped knee socks this time), and centerfold-class beauty and figure. Her idea of patter is to regale you with odd and gory anecdotes (decapitation, burger breath). I wonder if she dresses up a little at home? Keeps the stories a little more conventional, with mom and dad in the crowd?Probably not.Mjoll seems very comfortable on stage, like she was born there (almost true), comfortable in her own skin and very comfortable with her material and her inimitable delivery of it. She has a barely detectable accent, but it does make her sound just a little different from everyone else, in a charming way.Her band was absolutely stellar. She always seems to attract really good players. (“Jazzmaz” features an enviable cast in Vinnie Colaiuta, Don Grusin, Luis Conte, Charlie Bisharat, and the late and very missed Dave Carpenter, as well as Mjoll’s talented father Olafur Gaukur producing, arranging and on guitar.) At the Spud she had Mike Miller on guitar, John Gilutin on keys, Ian Martin on bass and Gerry Brown on drums, impressive chops-meisters and cookin’ this night. A real treat was provided when Reggie Hamilton sat in for a few on bass, even though he had literally just flown in from Europe and went straight to the club. His solo excursions alone were worth the price of admission.Her show was very similar to the excellent one I saw a few weeks earlier at Charlie O’s, including the stories, but it nagged at me that there was some missing piece this night. Then she gets to the very last number, “Blue Skies” (except for an ill-advised bowing to a persistent request for “Route 66” – ya gotta end high and leave ‘em wanting more). She goes to town with energized scatting throughout, and it jumps out that this was the one, where Anna Mjoll was in her element and shining. She had done some scatting in previous numbers, but not much, not as much as at Charlie O’s. I don’t think it was just the scatting that made the difference, but it was definitely tied to that.

You don’t listen to Christmas music for weeks before the day now, do you? The last week before Christmas is prime time for me, enough to get the spirit but not to OD. So the timing is perfect to download Anna Mjoll’s “Christmas Jazzmaz,” at CDBaby.com. I like the last four songs the best because they’re sung in Icelandic, and the “Santa Baby” is probably the sexiest and most fun version you’ll ever hear."Charles AndrewsMusic Forums Moderator

Christmas CD of the YearAnna Mjöll: "Christmas Jazzmaz" (Tónaljón)Music performance: *****Sound quality: *****Featuring: Vinnie Colaiuta (drums), Ólafur Gaukur (acoustic & electric guitars), Dave Carpenter (bass), Don Grusin (piano & keyboards), Luis Conte (percussion) and Charlie Bisharat (violin)...."In a few words? OK. The most charming and enchanting songstress in the current jazz scene has released the best "Christmas album" of this century.Really? Yes, absolutely!!! Throughout the years, dozens of jazz artists have issued Christmas projects. Most recently, back in 2005, Diana Krall released the excellent "Christmas Songs" CD, with a big budget production directed by Tommy LiPuma and the impeccable backing of the Clayton/Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. No surprises to be found, though. The typical Christmas tunes with nice vocals and predictable arrangements.Five years later we get Anna Mjöll's "Christmas Jazzmaz." What a difference! Surprises abound on each track. Backed by a small group, with smart scores by producer Ólafur Gaukur (who happens to be Anna's father, and is a guitarist whose touch and phrasing on the acoustic instrument reminds me of Luiz Bonfa's approach on the 12-string guitar), the LA-based Icelandic Jazz Princess delivers fresh and creative performances of such songs as "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "Winter Wonderland," "Sleigh Ride," "The Christmas Song" and "White Christmas."Even the opener "Jingle Bells" sounds intriguing and -- I know it will be hard to believe -- "new". Actually, I had to hold my breath during the first five songs, since "Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let is snow" is a pure delight and I can't find words to express my feelings for her "Santa Baby." Do yourself a favor and listen. Never a vocal Christmas jazz albums sounded so charming and ...seductive! Anna's phrasing and the highly personal tone of her silky "innocent" voice (the missing link between Bjork and Blossom Dearie) are pure delight. And again: so far, the best Christmas CD of this century. Happy Holidays!"To order a CD copy or a digital download:http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/annamjoll2- Arnaldo DeSouteiro

"Do yourself a favor and catch her now, at an intimate small club, before she breaks out into larger venues."-Charles Andrews, Music Forums Moderator, HomeTheaterSpot.com

"Icelandic jazz vocalist Anna Mjöll has developed a considerable buzz in L.A. selling out every night of recent weekend shows at Vibrato."-Tom Meek, LA Jazz.com

"Someone recently referred to Anna's new CD, recorded in California and mixed in Reykjavik, as "a must have by the sweetest woman and singer this side of Iceland!"I must add: a must have by the sweetest voice in the current jazz scene. Period.""Shadow..." features the LA-based Icelandic jazz diva surrounded by an all-star band led by her lucky arranger/producer/guitarist Ólafur Gaukur: drummers Vinnie Colaiuta (the current drummer's drummer all over the world) & John "JR" Robinson (Quincy Jones' favorite drummer ever, with Micahel Jackson's "Thriller" on his impressive discography), bassists Dave Carpenter & Neil Stubenhaus, keyboardist Don Grusin and percussionist Luis Conte, whom I first met when he was playing on Madonna's "Blond Ambition" tour. In some tracks - "I Get A Kick Out ofv You", "C'est Si Bon" and "Fever" -,After repeated listenings, "Shadow..." evokes me memories of Peggy Lee, Astrud Gilberto and specially Blossom Dearie. Anyway, despite all these mentioned references echoing on my mind, Anna Mjoll sounds like her own woman, capable to enchant and fascinate the listener with highly personal interpretations of top-class songs.The rhythm section changes on Johnny Mandel's classic "The Shadow of Your Smile," but once again Anna's approach is unique and amazing, intertwined with Ólafur Gaukur's 12-string acoustic guitar a la Luiz Bonfa.She knows how to caress a melody and seduce the listener, like happens throughout the album. Another highlight, "Fever," firstly made famous by Peggy Lee and later revived by Madonna, is a singing lesson in the sense of how to make each and every word sound with the proper impact and feeling.Don Grusin's piano floats in perfect empathy with Anna's milky vocals on Burt Bacharach's "The Look of Love." Don't lose your time trying to compare her with Dionne Warwick or Diana Krall. Mjoll's once again sounds ultra-peculiar.A latin-tinged arrangement of the French classic "C'est Si Bon" follows, featuring the horn section and Conte on percussion. Anna's sounds, to use French words, "coquette et sensuel." A beautiful original by Gaukur, "Saman Bú Og Ég" (the composer solos on the electric guitar while backing himself on the 12-string acoustic guitar), and two Antonio Carlos Jobim tunes complete the repertoire. The arangements includes a lovely guitar-wordless vocal solo section. Her phrasing would make Jobim proud.A surprising mood also envolves "Água de Beber," sung in Portuguese. Both Jobim songs, also appear as bonus tracks on Icelandic versions written by the multi-talented Gaukur."Shadow of Your Smile" is by far one of the best vocal jazz releases of 2009. Gifted with an abysmal potential, no one can accuse Anna Mjoll's of musical compliance. This wondrous girl (all the great booklet pics were shot on location in Iceland by Ess) knows how to take chances.- Arnaldo DeSouteiro

"The way I write, I want to tell a story in every composition," says Chan, 36, a classically trained pianist born and raised in Hong Kong. "My pieces tend to be open-ended. I go into different scenarios. They can read rough, jumping from one place to another, breaking grooves, but I like that kind of phrasing because in a way that's almost like talking, the way we phrase and rephrase things."

Most of his big band compositions reflect the modern world in affecting ways and, without explicitly incorporating ethnic forms, capture important aspects of the Asian-American experience.

"Compositions that unfold and morph, challenging structures, inventive voicings and ever-changing orchestral colors set this group apart. Chan has given Los Angeles a jazz big band with an utterly unique tonal personality," wrote Kirk Silsbee in a Down Beat feature published last year.

When Chan was growing up in Hong Kong, the country was still under British rule. Chinese music was marginalized there, and little jazz was available, so he was exposed mainly to classical and Chinese folk music. Even when he later immersed himself in jazz studies, he says, he never lost his connection to traditional Asian forms.

Chan went on to study jazz arranging with Gary Lindsay as an undergraduate at the University of Miami in the late '90s (a time and place he nostalgically recalls on "Shrimp Tale"), but he never thought he'd lead a big band. As a doctoral student at the University of Southern California, he primarily studied classical composition. (He acquired his master's in composition at the University of Missouri-Kansas City after being part of an exchange program at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna.)

But with the encouragement of two distinguished composer-arrangers at USC, Shelly Berg and Vince Mendoza, he became involved with jazz. And the more he listened to the work of artists including Thad Jones, Bob Mintzer, Uri Caine, Brazilian living legend Hermeto Pascoal, and the recently deceased Fred Ho, he says, "the more attractive jazz's harmonic language became to me. It felt like a bold new world."In 2008, Chan became a member of the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop in New York City. Under the guidance of director Jim McNeely, he made significant advances as a composer and arranger,incorporating classical elements into the background of some of his pieces. That the musicians he worked with were so adept at performing his compositions from scratch gave him a major boost.

After receiving commissions from around the world and having his charts performed by such ensembles as the Brussels Jazz Orchestra, Chuck Owen & the Jazz Surge, and the Millennium Jazz Orchestra of the Netherlands, Chan formed his Jazz Orchestra in 2011 -- the year he won the Dutch ArtEZ Jazz Composition Contest. He was also a finalist in last year's Brussels Jazz Orchestra Composition Contest.

The Alan Chan Jazz Orchestra performed two CD release shows, one on each coast. Their appearance at Catalina Bar & Grill in Hollywood was followed by Alan's debut at ShapeShifter Lab in Brooklyn. Much of the new CD's material was composed nearby in his studio in Gowanus. He was especially excited to perform this music in his beloved old Brooklyn neighborhood. Hopefully, there will be many more concerts all over the country.

Scheduled for release here in the USA next April 7 (the drummer's birthday is on April 9), "70 Strong" celebrates Steve Gadd's 70th birthday. It's the second CD by his latest group, The Steve Gadd Band, and they will be kicking off their special 2015 tour with three nights in Hollywood at Catalina Bar & Grill this weekend: January 29-31. The group includes Michael Landau (guitar), Walt Fowler (brass), Larry Goldings (keyboards) and Jimmy Johnson (5-string electric bass).

Japan's top jazz drummer, and a rare case of jazzman with the popularity of a pop star in Japan (like Sadao Watanabe), Akira Jimbo -- who became famous as a member of the Casiopea supergroup -- delivers a joyful tribute to Creed Taylor's CTI Records, snobbed by jazz purists in the 70s but now recognized as one of the most important jazz labels ever.

"Most of the CTI guys got a bunch of shit at the time from jazz purists--I don't like purists in any music, because conservatism bleeds creativity dry because they listened to and created their own form of jazz that would be not only accessible to mainstream listeners, but as sophisticated as anything that was happening at the time--or since," the renowned jazz historian Thom Jurek states. "For me, it was the greatest jazz label. Yes, that is heresy because IO didn't say Blue Note or Prestige or Verve, but no other label was able to paint as many different canvasses and bring jazz to people who had previously been intimidated by it. If you listen to Til Bronner's 'Til,' Gerardo Frisina's 'Movement,' Nicola Conte's 'Love & Revolution,' the influence of CTI is everywhere to be heard."

We can add the brand-new "Jimbo de CTI" to this list. It's a killer album focused on Jimbo's favorite albums from the CTI catalog of the 70s. Most of the tunes come from Eumir Deodato's "Prelude" (the monster hit "2001 - Also Sprach Zarathustra" adapted from Richard Strauss' symphonic poem, the latin-tinged tribute to Carly Simon and Carole King titled "Carly & Carole," and "Spirit Of Summer," originally written as a ballad) and "Deodato 2" (two epic themes composed by the Brazilian genius, "Super Strut" and "Skyscrapers.")

Akira Jimbo also selected tracks from other legendary albums: Airto Moreira's "Fingers" (the dancefloor anthem "Tombo In 7/4"), Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Stone Flower" (its title track that also fascinated Carlos Santana, who covered it twice), Freddie Hubbard's main theme from "Red Clay" (that became an instant contemporary jazz classic), and one lovely tune composed by Jane Hall for his husband Jim Hall, "The Answer Is Yes," included on Jim's best-selling album ever, "Concierto."

Curiously, though, instead of using a large band with strings and horns, like was typical of CTI in the Seventies, Jimbo-san opted to recreate these tunes in fast & furious arrangements performed "only" by a frenetic trio, completed by LA-based Venezuelan keyboard wiz Otmaro Ruiz and the Mexican-born bass legend Abe Laboriel, who also lives in California.

Even a sumptuous ballad like "Spirit Of Summer" receives a funkyfied groove, and it works pretty well. The epic "Skyscrapers," one of the album highlights, gets an irresistible dance mood, with Jimbo's massive breakbeats, Laboriel's astounding solo and Ruiz shining on the Rhodes as well as in the reproduction of the horn riffs from Deodato's arrangement (even the French Horn parts!!!) The closing theme, "The Answer Is Yes," is the only track with a kind of straight-ahead feeling, on which Jimbo starts using brushes. In all other tracks, the power trio plays with an impressive level of energy, intensity and excitement, with Otmaro's overdubs on his keyboard arsenal giving us the impression of a larger ensemble. The cover pic is a copy of the famous portrait done by the renowned NY-based Irish photographer Alen McWeeney for "Deodato 2."

The provocative meeting of vocalist extraordinaire Savoldelli with guitarist Fewell (also heard on percussion in some tracks) results in an astonishing album. Fewell's style -- no matter if playing acoustic, electric or "prepared guitar" -- reminds me of the late British guitarist Derek Bailey. Fewell sounds so adventurous like Bailey, but he has his own musical identity, and, at least on this album, shines specially on the acoustic guitar numbers.

Boris Savoldelli is the Mark Murphy of the new millenium, of the next galaxy, a highly creative vocal stylist that crosses all boundaries. He and Fewell co-wrote most of the songs, using a poetry by Sun Ra on "Silence Is Music," on which Luca Donini plays bass clarinet. The level of energy is even more impressive on the opener, Lou Reed's "Perfect Day," as well as in the jazz standards that they wisely re-construct: "Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise" (one of Art Farmer's favorite tunes), and two haunting ballads: "My One And Only Love" and "You Don't Know What Love Is," the perfect finale for this more than intriguing date.

Virtuoso jazz cellist Akua Dixon entered a new creative phase with the sleek 2011 quartet session "Moving On," her first album under her own name. Her new self-ttled CD, "Akua Dixon," is a dazzling string conclave that surveys the cellist/composer/arranger's expansive stylistic reach. Dixon's label, Akua's Music, released the disc two days ago.

"When I look back at my history I've written for all different sizes of string ensembles, from duos and trios to orchestras," Dixon says. "But the string quartet is the easiest unit to keep together and keep working, and it's the situation I've written for the most." The repertoire also includes Nat Simon's "Poinciana" (Ahmad Jamal's biggest hit ever) and a great take on Israel 'Cachao' Lopez' "A Gozar Con Mi Combo."

The eponymous CD features Dixon's working string quartet (Patrisa Tomassini, first violin; Gwen Laster or Chala Yancy, second violin; and Ina Paris, viola) plus special guests like bassist Kenny Davis, violin star Regina Carter, and violin master John Blake Jr. (in one of his final recordings before his passing last August).

Also featured, on one track apiece, are Dixon's children -- drummer Orion Turre, heard on the album opener, Charles Mingus' "Haitian Fight Song" (the algum highlight) and vocalist Andromeda Turre, who contributes a swooning version of Billy Strayhorn's "Lush Life." "They got exposed to a lot of different music growing up and both became wonderful musicians," says their proud mother. "Making music for me has always been a family affair." And this family affair already became the first item in our list for the best albums of this new year.

Born and raised in New York City, Akua Dixon grew up in a family suffused with music. She started playing with her sister, the late violinist Gayle Dixon, shortly after the cello came into her life in the 4th grade. After graduating from the prestigious "Fame" High School of the Performing Arts, Dixon studied at the Manhattan School of Music at a time when the only track available focused on European classical music. She describes her post-graduation gig in the pit band at the Apollo Theater as an essential proving ground. Backing a disparate array of stars from Rev. James Cleveland and Barry White to James Brown and Dionne Warwick, she developed a vast idiomatic repertoire.

With the doors of most symphony orchestras closed to African-American musicians (to say nothing of women), Dixon found a home in the Symphony of the New World, which is where she experienced the Ellingtonian epiphany that led her to jazz. "I started immersing myself in jazz and spirituals, and became determined to learn the secrets of improvising," she says.

It's hard to overstate the centrality of Dixon's contribution to the rise of visibility of bowed strings in jazz. In the early 1970s the New York scene was exploding with creatively ambitious and talented string players, many of whom gathered in the String Reunion, a 30-piece orchestra founded by Noel Pointer. Dixon served as the ensemble's director of new music, supplying the group with a steady stream of original compositions and arrangements. At the same time, she launched her own string quartet, Quartette Indigo, which made its big-league debut at the Village Gate with her sister Gayle Dixon, Maxine Roach, and John Blake Jr.

Dixon collaborated closely with another jazz giant in the early 1980s as a founding member of the Max Roach Double Quartet. She had honed her rhythmic drive backing the likes of James Brown, but learning to phrase bebop with one of the idiom's founding fathers was an invaluable experience.

After years of lending her skills to recordings by masters such as Archie Shepp, Don Cherry, Buster Williams, Carmen McRae, Dizzy Gillespie, Abbey Lincoln, Tom Harrell, and her former husband Steve Turre, Dixon made a bold statement of her own with 1994's Quartette Indigo (Landmark), a classic album featuring violist Ron Lawrence and violinists Gayle Dixon and John Blake Jr. (reissued by 32 Jazz). Supported by a grant from the NEA to compose the music, she delivered a brilliant second album in 1997 with "Afrika! Afrika!" (Savant) with Lawrence, and violinists Regina Carter and Marlene Rice.

She spent much of the next decade immersed in education, teaching at various institutions and conducting dozens of performances through the Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Concert Series. With the release of Akua Dixon, however, Dixon has refocused her priorities and put her own music on the front burner.

In support of the new CD, Dixon will be appearing with her string quartet 1/18 at the Mount Morris Ascension Presbyterian Church, 122nd Street and Fifth Avenue, NYC (the church she attended growing up was in this facility). Other CD release shows include: 1/30 Trumpets, Montclair, NJ; 4/18 Sistas' Place Coffee House, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn; and, 4/24 Leonard Nimoy Thalia at Peter Norton Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway at 95th Street, NYC.

On its turn, Manfred Eicher, founder of ECM Records, has announced a posthumous release by another legend, Kenny Wheeler (1930-2014), who was an unassuming giant of modern jazz, a daring improviser, and the composer of many beautiful and slyly unorthodox tunes. His recorded legacy includes albums now regarded as contemporary jazz classics such as "Gnu High," "Deer Wan," and "Music For Large And Small Ensembles."

In December 2013 he recorded what was to be his final album as a leader. "Songs for Quintet," an inspirational session -- featuring Wheeler's compositions of recent vintage such as "Sly Eyes" and "Prettly Liddle Waltz" plus a remake of "Nonetheless," first heard on "Angel Song" -- was recorded in London's Abbey Road Studio with four of Kenny's favorite players: Stan Sulzmann, John Parricelli, Chris Laurence and Martin France. Thse great musicians work together marvellously as an interactive ensemble, solo persuasively, and provide support for the tender and lyrical flugelhorn of the leader.

"Songs for Quintet" was scheduled for CD release in Europe on January 13, 2015 (the day before what would have been Kenny Wheeler's 85th birthday) and on February 3rd here in the USA, distributed by Universal Music Classics.